News Archive - Brittany Hook

Scripps-Led Coastal Data Information Program Awarded $40 Million for Cooperative Research

A coastal research and monitoring program led by UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography has been awarded a five-year, $40 million award from the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Support for the Coastal Data Information Program (CDIP) comes as the renowned program approaches its 50th anniversary of providing near real-time wave and sea-surface temperature observations, models, and forecasts.

New Study Uses Simulations to Reveal Bioluminescent Light Intensity in Breaking Waves

A new study led by Scripps Institution of Oceanography demonstrates, for the first time, how scientists can use computer simulations to quantify the light emitted by dinoflagellates when they flash in breaking waves, creating stunning displays of bioluminescence.

UC San Diego Launches New Graduation Requirement, Bolstering Climate Change Education

Beginning this fall, UC San Diego is implementing the Jane Teranes Climate Change Education Requirement (JTCCER), an initiative designed to ensure that undergraduates across all majors on campus are equipped to understand and address climate change. The new graduation requirement is named in honor of the late Jane Teranes, a beloved teaching professor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and advocate for climate education at UC San Diego.

Oyster Virus Detected in San Diego Bay Likely Worsened by Warmer Waters

New research led by scientists at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography reveals how rising water temperatures influence a deadly herpes virus in juvenile Pacific oysters in San Diego Bay. While the ostreid herpesvirus (OsHV-1) does not pose a threat to humans, it is capable of causing mass mortality events among oysters, potentially hindering oyster aquaculture operations.

3D Models Provide Unprecedented Look at Corals’ Response to Bleaching Events

In a new study, marine biologists from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego and Arizona State University are providing a first-of-its-kind glimpse into coral “bleaching” responses to stress, using imaging technology to pinpoint coral survival rates following multiple bleaching events off the island of Maui.

Study Pinpoints Cellular Response to Pressure in Sea Star Embryos

An international team of scientists has discovered a new cellular mechanism that explains how cells can adapt to pressure changes during tissue growth by packing themselves into a unique shape. Researchers at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Stanford University’s Hopkins Marine Station, and the Institute of Biomedicine in Seville (IBiS) in Spain led the research, which is novel for its use of sea star embryos as model organisms in this context.

Impacts of 2020 Red Tide Event Highlighted in New Study

In the spring of 2020, a historic red tide event occurred in waters off Southern California. Marine scientists from UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, NOAA, and other organizations seized the opportunity to study the unprecedented event and its impacts on marine life, both in the wild and in aquariums. In a recent study, this multi-institutional team identified deteriorating water quality — notably prolonged low oxygen conditions — as a significant factor in the mass mortality of fish and other marine organisms.

Study Illuminates the Protective Role of Fluorescence in Neon-Colored Sea Anemones

For the first time, a team of researchers at Stanford University and UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography has uncovered a direct genetic link between fluorescence and color in sea anemones — those soft and tentacled tide pool creatures often encountered by beachgoers.

New Paper Pinpoints Key Role of NASA Satellites in Monitoring Earth’s Vital Signs

In a new paper, scientists from five different institutions present an anthology of key findings unearthed by satellite technology over the last two decades. The all-women group of authors includes Helen Amanda Fricker, a glaciologist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego.

Scientists Publish 37-Year Record of Ocean Acidification off Southern California

For the first time, scientists at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography have published nearly four decades’ worth of dissolved carbon dioxide measurements from waters off Southern California.